What are the main points to take in mind before creating similar game as Don't Starve? Data Oriented Design help on this case?

[Fiwon]

Hello,

 

I'm a programmer and I'm very curious about how this game was created. Every game has life but the complexity of each thing on this game interacting with everything give me a blow away.

I think its because this is a survival game and the resource management seems to be a main core thinking superficially.

In this game a saw the generation of the map, interactions of living beings/tools/items/everything and resource management as the core. Maybe I'm summarizing a lot...

 

As I'm seeing now more about the Data Oriented Design and saw the bevy engine a little. Anyone knows if  Data Oriented Design can help on this type of game as this can be considered a infinite game? Or is it something that you don't need to worry about so much and the most important thing is to create the systems, for example?

 

A last thing is, I'm very curious about the Factorio game system too. But I can search after it haha. Just questioning, because I think this a important thing to take in mind before starting the game development as this can be very difficulty to make changes in the middle of development I think.

 

Kind Regards,

Felipe Inoue

Edited October 19 by Fiwon

[Fiwon]

Just to let here, if someone want to follow some good principles. I question on Factorio forum too:
https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=109274&p=594447#p594447

They used OOP thinking in performance a lot. That make sense as if you follow any principle but thinking in performance first I think the result will bed good in the final. Also They said that they broke some OOP principle to reach the result. 

Edited October 20 by Fiwon

[imsomony]

You're looking at this from a developer point of view, but the engine and code is not what made this a success. What made it a success was how it approached players interacting with the premise and imagination. That part of it is a different department than code.  

I would recommend you read Jamie and Kevin's Penny Arcade article from 2012 if you are trying to champion something similar.

• Original forum post: https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/775-design-theory-article-over-at-penny-arcade
• Article archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20121023001644/https://www.penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/intrinsic-vs.-extrinsic-rewards-in-kleis-latest-game-dont-starve
• Saved article as a PDF (attached)

And also read this post where @Spazmatic wrote up a compilation of all the teasers, puzzles, and hidden meanings from original "vanilla" Don't Starve - no DLC - in an easy-to-read story format:

• Original forum post: https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/24433-william-carters-story-so-farpuzzle-findings-and-lore-compilation
• Archived: https://archive.ph/3V762 OR https://web.archive.org/web/20220000000000*/https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/24433-william-carters-story-so-farpuzzle-findings-and-lore-compilation  

This game being coded properly isn't what drew any of us in, there were and are still bugs. It being a certain genre, or infinitely playable isn't it either (unless you branch out into DST).

Singleplayer Don't Starve challenged us to learn without any guides or direction. We got invested in the characters and not knowing what else would happen with them. Don't Starve forces us to realize "whatever I thought I knew, I have to look at it a little bit differently now". And that is what keeps us hooked.  

It doesn't matter that I have over a thousand hours in this game. It doesn't matter that I'm well past the point of discovering for myself, and I look up things on the Wiki I've learned and long-forgotten so much. This is still my #1 recommended game because every single play-through, I have to fight and try, and remember that I don't actually know everything. I always THINK I do, but I still mess it up and die and have to start over and try again.    

I love it every time I have to to so.

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic rewards in Klei’s latest game; Don’t Starve.pdf

[Fiwon]

Hello, @imsomony,

Thanks a lot for the response. I recently started thinking a lot about resource management and how to create a systemic world.
Just trying to understand what the process was to create it is a lot of fun for me. But you are right, the game is interesting because the Game Design was good and  well thought out.

I'll read your links to understand better  .

Kind Regards,

Felipe Inoue